


Roasted

by ashangel94



Series: Inktober Prompts [3]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-10-01
Packaged: 2019-07-23 06:48:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16153805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashangel94/pseuds/ashangel94
Summary: Summers in Georgia, pre-Apocalypse, were already something to dread. Post-electricity, and by extension air conditioning, they were deadly.





	Roasted

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing, not even the laptop I'm writing on is mine. *Un-beta'd

Summers in Georgia, pre-Apocalypse, were already something to dread. Post-electricity, and by extension air conditioning, they were deadly. Where once before you could seek refuge from the roasting sun inside, now every building has turned into a giant oven under the unforgiving rays. 

The prison was no different. There was no fuel to waste on the generators to run the A/C. So everyone was out in the fields desperately seeking shelter in whatever shade they could find at the base of whichever building wasn’t facing the sun.

Beth was trying to keep Judith calm with a bucket of water that she kept dipping a cloth into to keep the babe as cool as possible, but with the sun heating the water up so fast it wasn’t working all that well. 

You were helping the men bring continuous buckets of water for the fence clearers and the children so they wouldn’t dehydrate, when you remembered something from your childhood. Growing up in the south, especially without the money to always afford every bill every month, you remembered how you beat the heat back then. 

Rushing to drop your latest bucket off with Beth, you jog up to Daryl at the fence, “Daryl, do we still have that old pickup that we found a few months back?”

“Yeah, got it parked over with the rest of the supply cars we take, why?” He gave you a confused look when he saw you grin like a loon. 

“Can you please move it to under the watchtower, don’t block the door obviously, but just close enough to where it’s shaded? Thank you, love you, be right back!” You rush back off to make your way towards the outdoor grill setup. Daryl just stood there for a second thinking that you might have been in the heat for too long, but still going to do what you asked. 

Meanwhile, you ran up to Carol who was trying to cook without standing in front of the grill for long, “Carol! Do we still have the plastic tarp that Glenn brought back last week?” 

“Yes, I think we stored it down by the showers, remember we were going to cut it up to make shower curta-” You didn’t stick around, immediately rushing into the prison and making your way to the shower block.

Finding the tarp and whooping with joy you grab it. When you finally get back outside, you see that Daryl did what you asked and you make your way over to the watchtower with the tarp. You reach the truck and almost squeal with happiness when you notice there are already bungee cords in the truck bed. When Daryl notices what you have in your arms, he freezes with recognition. He locks eyes with you and you grin as you both say at the same time, “Redneck Swimming Pool.” 

“I’ll get the tarp set up, ya go an’ get the guys ta start bringing the buckets over here instead,” Daryl takes the tarp from you and quickly gives you a peck on the cheek, “Ya a genius (Y/N), I love ya.”

Somehow your grin gets even bigger as you go and start rounding up everyone that isn’t working an important job at the moment to grab the biggest bucket they can carry and to start bringing water over to Daryl. When asked why they were storing water in the truck, you took great pleasure in watching their faces brighten when you said, “It’s a pool, silly.” 

When it was about half way full, you started gathering all the kids so they can have the first chance at cooling off. Having them take their shoes off, you helped each one into the back of the pickup and the change was almost immediate. They started laughing and splashing each other, no longer feeling like they were roasted from the sun. None of the adults had the heart to tell them to try and keep their voices down or keep the water in the truck so it isn’t wasted. 

When the sun finally started setting and the kids were sent inside to dry off for dinner, you and Daryl were sitting down next to the truck’s back wheel. 

“Ya did good (Y/N). I don’t know how it took us so long to remember,” Daryl said, rubbing his thumb across the back of your hand, while you rested your head on his shoulder. 

“Because we are so focused on surviving, we forget to take a few moments to live as well.” 

You both take a few moments to just sit in silence, when you decide to take your own advice and sit up and begin taking your boots off. 

“What are ya doing now?”

“Living,” and you hop into the truck bed, sending a splash over the side drenching Daryl where he sat. 

“Oh ya gonna pay for that girlie,” he growled before losing his boots and coming in after you.

**Author's Note:**

> Took me forever to think of a plot for this prompt, hope you liked it <3


End file.
